Again
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Two babies and one former puppet went through the wardrobe. Three orphaned children, three different fates. And this is the story of how two of them became a family.


This is a new fic that bauerfanstraten helped me develop. It's going to feature Star Swan, Dragon Queen and Snowing, with minor Rumbelle and Tinkerbae. It's an AU onpretty much the whole series, though some things will remain the same. This chapter is mainly Emma, Lily and Henry. The next chapter is when we meet everyone else.

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" _ **When it's good, it's so good  
When it's bad, it's so bad  
Maybe I really have gone mad!  
What am I supposed to say  
When I end up driving everyone away?**_

 _ **Cause, I am on fire**_  
 _ **A crying, burning liar**_  
 _ **Seeing nothing, nothing, but myself**_  
 _ **And I'm the one with the lighter"-Crusher**_

In a world where Zelena was Rumple's prodigy.

Where Snow and her prince teamed up with Maleficent and her queen to save their children.

But a fairy's lie would lead them to fail.

Two babies and one former puppet went through the wardrobe.

Three orphaned children, three different fates. And this is the story of how two of them became a family.

Emma stared down at the pregnancy test, it felt very heavy in her hands. Neal had left her with two things, apparently. The yellow bug…and a baby.

She was serving an 11-month sentence, she hadn't ever paid much attention in health class, but she knew that babies took approximately 9 months to come. She wouldn't be even done with her sentence when the kid came. What was she supposed to do? Put it in the system? No, that very one had failed her time and time again.

But what was her other option? This was the only family she had. Could she really give it away?

" _You promised, friends forever."_

Lily's words swarmed in her mind. Her first best friend, her only one really. The girl she had walked away from, twice. She had spent so much time resenting her for screwing up that foster family for her, being upset with her for lying. But she couldn't help but feel a connection to her. Lily was always there, in her own way. Being with her, it was like finally having a family. She had long since forgiven Lily, but had she forgiven Emma for walking away?

There was only one way to find out.

The prison allowed internet access to those with good behavior. Emma mostly kept to herself, completing her tasks and not getting into fights with the other inmates, so she qualified for 30 minutes of monitored access.

It didn't take very long for her to find the Lilith Page that she was looking for. To her surprise, she was living in Arizona. She sent her an e-mail, hoping for the best.

One week past, then two. Soon, it had been a couple of months. Emma was losing hope and a social worker had come by to visit her a couple of times, asking what her intentions were for the baby. Just when she was about to give up and face that she was going to have to give the kid up, a guard entered her cell.

"You have a visitor, Swan."

Emma felt her breath catch as she hoisted herself up and followed him down to the visitor center. Sitting at one of the cafeteria style tables was Lily. She had gotten a bit taller over the years, but her style seemed to be the same: hoodie, beat up jeans and a beanie. Emma sat across from her, waiting for the guard to leave them be, before making eye contact with her.

"You came," she said.

"Thank you for stating the obvious."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I just meant that I e-mailed you a couple of months ago."

"I wasn't sure if I should come."

"Why did you?"

Lily bit her lip. "Because…you don't give up on the people you love."

Emma stared at her for a minute. Those four words, only two people had ever said them to her before: Nea and Ingrid. Both had screwed her over so badly, despite how badly she had loved them back. Still, she knew she loved Lily, she had to. That was the reason she had called her back there.

Emma ran a hand through her tangled curls. "I…I'm sorry I just shut you out."

"I understand, sort of. I mean...I screwed things up for you, again."

"You were a kid, we both were. I never should've lied to them in the first place."

"Did you ever get a family?"

She shook her head. "You talk to your adoptive parents ever again?"

"Nope," Lily replied, popping the p. "I'm still a disgrace."

"That's not true."

"To them it is."

Emma sighed. "I'm really sorry, Lily."

"To be honest, when I heard from you again…it made me happy."

"Even if it's because I need your help?"

"I owe you one, don't I?"

"Do you think you can handle it?"

Lily looked down at Emma's stomach. With her jumpsuit, no one could make out the barely there baby bump. Most of her fellow inmates didn't know that she was pregnant yet, just a few of the guards and the prison doctor. She reflected on what the older man told her on the train after they separated last time. If it was true, if her mothers were trapped under a curse, along with Emma's parents, this could be their one way to reunite with them together. They could find their families. Heck, they could be a family.

She nodded. "How far along are you?"

"About 3 months." Emma rubbed her stomach. "I…I don't know how it'll work."

"Is the father a problem?"

She shook her head. "He took off, leaving me alone to take the fall for the watches."

"Right."

"Do you have a job?"

"Yes."

"When I get out, I'll find a way to pay you back."

"Just…just don't leave me again. I meant what I said, Emma. When I'm with you, things are brighter."

Emma softly smiled. "Yeah…we did have some good times together."

Lily reached across, touching her hand. Emma let out a deep breath, feeling a weight lifted off her shoulders. She squeezed it, smiling as she gazed into Lily's eyes.

"No touching!" A guard barked.

Lily sighed, pulling away from her. "One day, I won't be able to keep my hands off of you."

Emma smirked. "I can't wait for that day."

For the next 6 months, Lily came to visit Emma once a week. She brought her new books to read and in exchange, Emma would give her sonogram pictures or drawings that she had done. They talked until the guards kicked Lily out and they were forced to say goodbye. With each visit, Emma found her heart aching when Lily would leave. As the months went by, she feared saying goodbye to the baby inside of her, even though she knew it would be brief. She knew that Lily could take good care of him or her. It was still scary to think that she would go without parenting them for 2 months.

Lily got the call in the middle of the night that her girlfriend had gone into labor. She rushed to the hospital and found Emma's ankle shackled to the bed, a sight which made her cringe. She looked over to the guard that had been sent to watch over her.

"Is that really necessary?" She asked.

The guard shrugged. "Policy."

Lily rolled her eyes and walked over to Emma, taking her hand. "How you doing?"

"Scared," Emma whispered.

"It's going to be okay, you're doing great."

"You just got here, how would you know?"

"Because Emma Swan, you are the bravest person I know."

Emma spared her a smile and she kept on clinging to her hand through the labor. When it came time to push, Emma was screaming even louder. The lights above flickered as she gave the final push.

"It's a boy!" The doctor cried out.

"A boy," Lily grinned. "We have a boy!"

"A boy," Emma breathed. "I want to see him."

"Would you like to cut the cord, Lily?" The doctor asked.

Lily nodded and walked over, following his instructions on how to do it. The doctor wrapped the baby up in a blanket and placed him on Emma's chest. Lily was back at her side, both of them having tears of joy pouring down their faces. He was amazing in every single way, their precious little boy.

Later on, once she had delivered the after birth, Emma laid in bed holding the baby, with Lily curled up to her side. The next day, Lily would have to take the baby and she wouldn't get to see them for a bit. The prison didn't allow children to visit, so it would be 2 months until she would get to hold her son again. She wasn't going to waste a minute of it.

"This is going to sound bad, but I only had girl names," Emma admitted. "I never even thought of any boy ones."

Lily reflected on the stories that the old man had told her once on that train. If they were true, she was pretty sure she had a name. After the grandfather that died while trying to protect them and after one of her mothers' first loves.

"Henry," she whispered. "Henry Daniel."

Emma tilted her head. "Where'd that come from?"

"I just…I've been thinking of names too."

She thought about it for a minute and then smiled. "I like it. Henry Daniel Page-Swan."

"Oh Emma, you don't have to…"

"You're his mom, too."

Lily grinned and leaned her head up, kissing her cheek. Their first real kiss wasn't about to be under the watch of some stupid guard, that would have to wait until Emma got out of prison. The tears filled up in Emma's eyes again.

"Promise me, Lily, promise me that you're going to take care of him."

"I will."

"No, I'm serious. He…he can't end up like us. You have to promise me…"

"Emma," Lily put her hand on her cheek. "I promise, I am not going to let a thing happen to this baby. He's going to be fine, we're going to be fine. In 2 months, we'll come and get you, okay?"

Emma let out a deep breath and kissed the top of Henry's head. "Okay."

Letting go of Henry for those 2 months was the hardest thing that Emma had ever done. Lily sent pictures and promised her that she was recording daily videos of their lives, so she wouldn't miss a thing. He was going to a daycare and he seemed to be doing well there.

After 8 long weeks, Emma was finally free. She walked out of the prison to find Lily standing there, Henry in her arms. He had gotten so big in their time apart. She ran to them, wrapping her arms around Lily. She gave Henry a kiss.

"Hey honey, remember me? I'm your mommy," she whispered. "I missed you so much." She looked up at Lily and smiled. "I missed your mama, too."

She leaned in, kissing her. It was a kiss both girls had waited on for 6 years and nothing had ever tasted sweeter.

They stayed in Phoenix for a bit, but it didn't feel like home. Both had been discovered as infants in Massachusetts, they felt like maybe it was time to return to their roots. They finally had enough saved around Henry's first birthday and took the trek up there, with boxes filling up the trunk of the yellow bug and Henry in his car seat. The journey was long, with lots of pit stops and mini-arguments, but it was worth it.

Together, they got a tiny apartment in Boston. Lily became a waitress at a diner around the corner and Emma got a job as a bail bondsperson. They couldn't always afford to give Henry the newest toys or clothes, but he was cared for and happy. They were all happy.

Then, shortly after Henry's 2nd birthday, they got a knock on the door.

On the other side stood Neal Cassidy, a book of fairytales in hand.

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Please tell me what you think!


End file.
